Penguins/Oilers Recap: Tell her that the Oilers are scorin’ goals. Pens laughed out of Edmonton (2024)

Pregame

Same skaters for the Penguins but Alex Nedeljkovic gets a turn in goal for the back-to-back.

First period

An early power play brings no results for the Pens, but they’re more or less hanging tight with the Oilers for the first 10-15 minutes. Then there’s a puck battle between Erik Karlsson and Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl wins and pops the puck ahead for Connor McDavid. He’s on the loose. It’s a 2v1 that Marcus Pettersson plays well to not allow the pass. So McDavid just fires a shot off Nedeljkovic’s pads that might as well be a pass. Zach Hyman does what Zach Hyman does, go to the net and pounce on a rebound. 1-0 EDM.

Not a bad effort early. Shots are 10-9 Oilers.

Second period

Calvin Pickard stops Rickard Rakell and Sidney Crosby from in close. It was a great chance for Pittsburgh to get on the board, but they couldn’t quite finish. Play goes the other way and the Oilers make them pay. Corey Perry from right in front. 2-0.

The game gets into laugher territory, Draisaitl beats Noel Acciari on a faceoff, plays the puck maybe accidentally off Chad Ruhwedel that bounds right over to Hyman. A quick shot later for Hyman’s 42nd of the year and it’s 3-0 for the Oil.

Pittsburgh gets caught with too many men but the Oilers can’t score. Soon after, Lars Eller sends a shot off the crossbar and out of play.

The Pens hang tough though. Jansen Harkins gets impeded during a breakaway and is awarded a penalty shot. He shot wide and missed the net.

Ryan McLeod adds insult to injury by banking a shot off Nedeljkovic’s back and in. Woof, 4-0.

Intermission and the end of the game can’t come soon enough. Edmonton goes low-to-high to find Cody Ceci sneaking in to the right dot. He fires it in. 5-0.

Disaster of a period, hard to believe it was only 1-0 when it began.

Third period

In between Edmonton odd-man rushes, P.O. Joseph hits the goalie and then the crossbar with a shot. No dice. Oilers get a breakaway and Kris Letang had to hook Evander Kane. Probably should have been a penalty shot for Edmonton but the refs take mercy on the score. Edmonton already backing off to with Connor/Leon on the bench.

Eller takes his gamely high-sticking penalty while on the PK to bring it to 5v3, the big dogs get out there but they don’t shoot too much on it.

Back to 5v5, Draisaitl shoots on the rush and the rebound is kicked out to McDavid. Yeah, probably not the best course of action. 6-0.

Reilly Smith played the puck from behind the net, and somehow it hit an Oiler, flipped over the net and landed at the feet of Evgeni Malkin right in front. Malkin hacked it in to break the shutout and score a goal in the most minor of silver linings. He doesn’t smile or even skate down the bench to collect the requisite fist bumps that always happens. The Pens contractually have to play out these final few minutes, but they’re certainly not having fun doing so.

Some thoughts

• It was a four-game road trip that started with so much promise when the Pens beat Vancouver on Tuesday. That is a lifetime ago now after three straight losses and especially the last 70 minutes of hockey dating back to the third period in Calgary. It always is too melodramatic to say that ended the season, but realistically that’s probably what ended any hope for the season.
• The Pens loaded up with Malkin, Crosby and Rakell as a line in the second period coming off of the PK. Why not at this point? It only lasted a shift. Puustinen played mostly with O’Connor-Crosby in the third period though.
• Jansen Harkins has played 42 NHL games this season and remains behind Tristan Jarry in goals (1-0). That penalty shot was sad. He came back to the bench and you just had to feel bad for him. How does this guy score a point per game in the AHL and look so feeble in every way on the big stage?
• Hard not to feel bad for Nedeljkovic too. McDavid tried the old “shoot it off the goalie’s head” move just seconds after McLeod scored to make it 5-0. It very nearly worked for McDavid. If ol’ Ned had skated off the ice never to return at that point, I can’t say I would have blamed him.
• Watching McDavid is a real treat, aside from the fact he beats the Pens like a drum (which, well he does to most everyone). McDavid now has 14 points (5G+9A) in his last five games against Pittsburgh. Edmonton is 5-0-0 in the last five (aggregate score: 29-8).
• Makes next Sunday’s rematch not too fun. Well, it kinda is just to see McDavid buzz around out there, that is quite the sight to see.
• The funny thing is, for as much of a blowout as this game was — and the score doesn’t lie, it was a bloodbath — but the Pens were still so close to competing. The goal Crosby nearly scored only to see one at the other end seconds later. Eller hitting a crossbar and Harkins’ PS attempt within a few minutes of each other. Pittsburgh had no business being in the game and certainly wouldn’t have won it, but even getting laughed off the ice they were still a very fine degree of at least acquitting themselves somewhat well.

But they can’t find that degree right now. Whether it’s focus, ability, the Guentzel/Rust injuries finally weighing them down — it’s just not enough right now. The road trip that could have kept their season alive (at least with better results in SEA and CGY) ends up going the other direction, and decisively so. Tough night and rough ending that will set the stage for a very interesting week ahead with the trade deadline looming on Friday.